Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Manhattan DA Investigates Mysterious Heiress' Fortune
By
Jaya Saxena
Published Aug 29, 2010
Modified Aug 31, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jaya Saxena
Published Aug 29, 2010
Modified Aug 31, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Earlier this year, MSNBC.com reported on the curious case of Huguette Clark, the 104-year-old heiress to father William A. Clark, whom Mark Twain once described as" a shame to the American nation, and no one has helped to send him to the Senate who did not know that his proper place was the penitentiary, with a chain and ball on his legs." After living in a 42-room home at 907 Fifth Avenue, Clark has spent the last 20 years as the "princess" of Beth Israel Hospital, with her finances handled by Attorney Wallace Bock and accountant Irving Kamsler. Now, the Manhattan DA is investigating whether or not Bock and Kamsler have been stealing her $500-million fortune.
Investigators questioned Bock's paralegal over a $10,000 dollhouse Clark reportedly bought for Bock's granddaughter, and $1.5 million Clark allegedly gave Bock in cash. The dollhouse gift wouldn't be difficult to swallow; Clark reportedly spent much of her inheritance amassing a collection of French dolls. One friend said, "Her closest friends have always been her dolls." And before she moved into the hospital, she was generous with her money; doormen at her Fifth Avenue building each received a $500 check for Christmas. However, neighbors rarely saw her, and in the 1980s she left on a stretcher for Beth Israel and has not been seen since. Hospital reps wouldn't even confirm to the Post that Clark was there.
Bock's spokesman said, "Ms. Clark's services have been handled with great care and professionalism over the years and consistent with her wishes for privacy. Any inquiry will confirm that all matters have been handled appropriately." However, Bock has reportedly turned away relatives of Clark who wanted to visit her, though it's unclear if that is because Clark had no desire to see them or if he was attempting to cover something up.
Clark has also reportedly gone into debt in the past few years. Tax records show she had a $2.1 million debt in 2006 and 2007, and Bock and Kamsler recently sold her Stradivarius violin for $6 million and auctioned off a Renoir painting for $23.5 million. She is said to have told friends that wealth is a "menace to happiness."
Tagged
beth israel hospital
fortune
heiress
huguette clark
Jaya Saxena
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Central Park birders, others remember 63-year-old woman killed in park
People who said they knew her described her as an artist and a familiar presence in the Ramble.
By
Charles Lane
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 7:04 p.m. ET
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
News
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .